


shine a light in the dark

by towokuwusatsuwu



Series: Pride 2018: 30 Days of S.W.O.R.D. [23]
Category: HiGH&LOW: the Story of S.W.O.R.D. (TV)
Genre: Anniversary, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Multi, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 09:06:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15021293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towokuwusatsuwu/pseuds/towokuwusatsuwu
Summary: “Morning, Tatsu.” Tsukumo doesn’t even turn around when he speaks, but Tatsuya smiles just the same at the sound of his voice, still rough from sleep. “Happy anniversary.”Kohaku tilts his head just enough so that Tatsuya can see his eyes, dark and light, lit softly by the pale sunlight. “Happy anniversary, Tatsuya. How’d you sleep?”“Very well. I always do, considering I have you two there with me.” Tatsuya doesn’t have to ask them to move; they both shift away from each other so he can move to stand between them. Tsukumo sidles up close to him, his head coming to rest on Tatsuya’s shoulder, while Kohaku takes him by the hand. It’s these small things that Tatsuya loves so much. “How about you two?”





	shine a light in the dark

There are flowers on the kitchen table, white roses with a black ribbon tied around them, the petals fresh and new against the dark scuffed wood. They were, admittedly, Tsukumo’s idea— Tatsuya knows this without having to ask, picks them up in both hands and inhales the soft floral fragrance he knows so well. Kohaku is bad at such things, had tripped and stumbled over any kind of love confession, content to linger in confusion and obscurity until Tsukumo encouraged him to be open with his feelings. Tatsuya believes in returning the favor, so he had coaxed Tsukumo into doing the same thing only a year or so after the fact.

A card is beneath the roses, not from either of his boys but from what feels like their collective bunch of kids, the ones Cobra leads under the name Sannoh Rengokai. The card was most likely Noboru’s idea; Tatsuya can believe she is the one who kept the date in mind, who makes sure they send a car signed by all of their members every year, some script nearly unreadable. Tatsuya still treasures each and every name and adds the card to his collection of them.

Even these small mementos mean so much to him. Having this life with Kohaku and Tsukumo may never have been part of his plans, but the reality is so much sweeter than he ever could have imagined.

It doesn’t take long to find where the two of them have gotten off to. While Tatsuya showered and dressed in preparation for going into Itokan this morning— even on this day, he has work, and he wants to do it properly— Kohaku and Tsukumo stole off to the porch to smoke. Lazy curls of smoke hang around their heads, their arms almost touching as they lean against the railing that wraps most of the porch, the early morning light framing them nicely from this angle. Tatsuya watches them together from just inside the door, appreciating the sight of them together, before he joins them.

“Morning, Tatsu.” Tsukumo doesn’t even turn around when he speaks, but Tatsuya smiles just the same at the sound of his voice, still rough from sleep. “Happy anniversary.”

Kohaku tilts his head just enough so that Tatsuya can see his eyes, dark and light, lit softly by the pale sunlight. “Happy anniversary, Tatsuya. How’d you sleep?”

“Very well. I always do, considering I have you two there with me.” Tatsuya doesn’t have to ask them to move; they both shift away from each other so he can move to stand between them. Tsukumo sidles up close to him, his head coming to rest on Tatsuya’s shoulder, while Kohaku takes him by the hand. It’s these small things that Tatsuya loves so much. “How about you two?”

“Woke up in the middle of the night thinking about what those bastards did to Cobra.” Kohaku’s voice is soft but rough with emotion, and he tilts his head away, clearly ashamed.

Tatsuya kisses him on the neck, the closest part of him that he can reach, and Kohaku looks over at him, eyes soft and sad and imploring. “You got to him in time, you know. Even for everything that happened, you were still there to save him when he needed you.”

“Still,” Kohaku murmurs, and Tatsuya squeezes his hand.  _ Still. _ He understands.

“I didn’t wake up but at some point I had a dream about that guy who nearly stabbed me like seven different times. He stabbed through  _ steel. _ He’s cheating somehow.” Tsukumo huffs and presses his head against Tatsuya’s neck, soft hair tickling Tatsuya’s skin. “The Amamiyas say they beat him but I swear to God I don’t think he can actually be killed.”

Kohaku grunts and shakes his head. “Motherfucker. He dropped down from the  _ ceiling. _ ”

“Speaking of the Amamiyas, they’ll be here for dinner tomorrow night. The house, not the restaurant.” Getting them to agree had been harder than it should have had to be, because though Takeru was more than willing to take Tatsuya up on the offer, Masaki and Hiroto fought him on it quite a bit. But he’s determined to make sure the three brothers know how much help they had been in the fight to make sure the casino plan did not come to fruition, and how much it helped to have them there to fight when Kuryu showed up. “So be on your best behavior.”

“You heard him, Kohaku-san,” Tsukumo murmurs.

“I’m always on my best behavior,” Kohaku insists, but Tatsuya only chuckles and shifts so he can take Kohaku by the arm instead of just holding his hand. “Tatsuya, uh…”

The way he trails off has Tatsuya tilting his head so he can see Kohaku better, see the slight flush rising under his dark skin, almost hidden by the warm sunlight slowly creeping up the horizon, casting a soft glow on the world around them. He knows Kohaku has something to ask him, and has an idea as to what it is on top of everything else, but he keeps his mouth closed and patiently waits for Kohaku to speak, rubbing his arm gently to coax him. Sometimes, though he is getting better at it every day, Kohaku has a tendency to freeze up, close his mouth and stop talking, like he did so many times before Tsukumo finally got through to him.

Finally, Kohaku exhales slowly and faces Tatsuya properly. “We should go on a ride this evening. Maybe you can ask Naomi to watch Itokan for a little while, but I think… Just the three of us. Because it’s a special day, and we’ve gone through a lot lately.”

“It’s supposed to be nice weather this evening, so it should be a good ride,” Tsukumo adds.

Tatsuya knows them well enough that the roses might have been Tsukumo’s idea, but this idea is Kohaku’s. They had formed their bonds by riding together, and he can only imagine how nice a couple of hours on their bikes, sharing the road, will feel after all the hell they’ve gone through in the last few weeks. Tatsuya has his own emotions about this to shake, and there’s only so much he’s been able to do from behind the counter at Itokan anyway.

“Of course.” He kisses the corner of Kohaku’s mouth, chuckles when Kohaku leans away from him, a little shy. “That sounds like the best way to celebrate today.”

They have more to celebrate than just an anniversary. Tatsuya likes to commemorate the occasion, and they do something small every year because of the three of them, none of them are particularly fond of grand gestures. There have been a few, just the same, because some gestures can be nothing but large in nature. The surprise party Tsukumo cobbled together for Kohaku’s birthday one year, handling the details while Tatsuya focused on moving the money they had been carefully saving so they could give Kohaku a proper present.

The best presents, of course, last forever. They had taken Tatsuya’s car to the hospital that morning, the three of them squeezed into the front even though the lankier Sannoh members who borrow it from time to time can hardly have three up front because Kohaku was nervous, needed to hold their hands so he could calm himself. He still wears the remnants of that present, the twin scars under his pectoral muscles, the ones Tatsuya traces slowly, reverently, to remind Kohaku that he’ll never see him as anyone other than who he’s always been.

“We can do another ride at night with the kids because Yamato’s been saying he wants to do that since it’s like, a big deal and all.” Tsukumo waves a hand along with his words, slow and lazy gestures, his fingers still mottled with healing bruises.

Tatsuya likes the sound of this but can’t help a small frown at the thought, rubbing his cheek against Tsukumo’s hair just to feel the soft texture against his skin. “Can Cobra ride in his condition? I thought his ribs were pretty well cracked.”

“Noboru says he’s doing better,” Kohaku offers, and Tatsuya hums to show he’s listening. “She’s been keeping him from doing anything intensive so he could actually heal. He’s dying to ride again so she’s not going to be able to keep him down for much longer.”

“I guess it’s all right then. But only if Cobra rides with Yamato.” Tatsuya knows he’ll get what he wants because his boys listen to him properly, and he knows Yamato will watch over Cobra and make sure he doesn’t overexert himself. “Maybe the other leaders can ride with us.”

Tsukumo tilts his head, and Tatsuya can feel a smile against his skin. “You sure you want Hyuga out there with us? He’s liable to hit someone with his car with the way they drive.”

“Not funny,” Kohaku mutters.

“It’s a little funny,” Tatsuya says, and Kohaku shoots him a look. He takes Kohaku’s hand again, brushes a kiss over his knuckles, and Kohaku softens for him just a little. “We’re both okay, right? Kuryu didn’t do a good enough job. They’re very sloppy, it seems.”

Kohaku nods, and he shuffles a little closer, tilting his head so his forehead brushes against Tatsuya’s, no doubt craving the closeness. Though Kohaku is loathe to admit it, and no one would ever get such an impression from him, he likes to be close, to be touched, to be warm. “I just… Don’t wanna lose either of you and I almost did.”

“But we’re still here.” Tsukumo walks around Tatsuya so he can push himself up against Kohaku’s side, settling an arm around his waist. “Don’t look so sad. It’s a happy day, you know.”

Tatsuya kisses Kohaku’s hand again, lets his lips linger against the scarred skin, looking into his eyes, so soft and sad that it hurts. “Tsukumo’s right. It’s a day to celebrate everything we have together, and we’re always going to have it. Cearly, we’re all meant to be together.”

The long fights with Kuryu must have been hard on Kohaku. He’s watched so many of the people he loves come so close to dying so many times, had entered his own period of darkness that their beloved sons had to pull him out of before it was too late to save him. It’s been hard on all of them, but it’s been particularly hard on him and Tatsuya’s heart still swells at the thought of Kohaku banding together with the rest of S.W.O.R.D. to make sure they had all of the necessary documentation and their key witness so the water contamination could go public.

He could be with Kohaku for the rest of his life and that won’t give him nearly enough time to admire Kohaku for everything he’s done, much less everything he’s going to do.

“Come to Itokan with me and I’ll make you both breakfast,” Tatsuya says, and he doesn’t miss the way both of their eyes light up, the way Tsukumo grins, the flash of Kohaku’s teeth as he smiles. It does his heart good to see his husbands happy.

“You don’t have to convince me. I’m game,” Tsukumo says.

Kohaku squeezes Tatsuya’s fingers. “It won’t be too much trouble for you? You usually have a pretty hefty group even in the early morning.”

“Nonsense. Come with me. I’ll make your favorite.” And that decides Kohaku, because he’s never been able to turn down Tatsuya’s cooking anyway.

But they don’t have to leave just yet, because Tatsuya is always ready early, so he makes them coffee at home and sits with them on the porch for a little while. Kohaku smokes another cigarette and Tsukumo insists on telling them about the swordsman again, about how he looked death in the face and lived to tell the tale (if only because the swordsman missed, but still). Tatsuya steals kisses from both of them because he can and thinks about what he’s going to cook them, and how he’s going to season it just for them.

It might not be the anniversary everyone wants, but it’s theirs, and that’s what matters to him.


End file.
